In a way, my latest round at Scenic Woods Golf Club was unbelievable. Prior to the round, I shot 85 or better just eleven times in my lifetime. Two of those rounds were on a par 71 golf course, so I had only nine rounds where I shot 13 under par or better. Of the nine rounds, three were scores of 85 even at Scenic Woods (Oct 2014, Oct 2015, May 2016). That's pretty strange, but weirder yet is the fact that those were my only three visits to the course. I recently made my fourth visit to Scenic Woods and sure enough, I shot 85 once again! Four of my top ten rounds of all time have now been played at this course and I've only been there four times. Unreal.
My front nine this time around was the best of the bunch. On previous occasions, I tallied 40, 42 and 40 at the turn. This time, I shot a tidy 38 (3 over par), thanks to a couple of nice birdies. The first one came after a bogey, par, double-bogey start to the round. On hole #4, a short par-4, you have two options off the tee. You can hit an iron off the tee, leaving your preferred wedge distance into an elevated green for your second shot. Alternately, you can try to drive the ball somewhere close to the green. Anywhere to the left is no good, as thick forest covers the entire hillside. To the right is okay, but you must carry a fescue covered slope to reach the upper plateau. More fescue awaits up top, so a lost ball is a distinct possibility.
I opted to go deep, easily carrying the ball to the upper level. Next, the search for the ball was on. I found it three yards from the front edge of the fescue, but the area was a little thin and I had a good lie. I hit a beautiful lob wedge over a couple of small trees about 70 yards to a back pin location. That was an amazing shot, and it was followed by a perfectly executed putt from about eight feet.
I went par, double-bogey, par, par over the next four holes. Mixed in there were a couple of bad shots and penalty strokes. On hole #6, a bad drive attempt smacked a large tree just ahead of the teeing ground and dropped into the creek. I had to hit from the drop area and finished with a double. On hole #8, however, I recovered from a pulled drive with an amazing shot from 100 yards and a 4-foot putt. On hole #9, a 168-yard par-3, I went even better. My 8-iron off the tee landed in front of the pin and released directly to the hole. I had less than two feet remaining for par and drained it easily for my second birdie of the day. Incidentally, I had only eleven putts on the front nine, including six consecutive 1-putts to finish.
My drive on hole #10 was a slice that finished directly behind a spruce tree. I had to declare the ball unplayable and take a penalty. Going for the green with my fourth shot, I pulled a 9-iron slightly. I was unable to get up and down, finishing the hole with a double. On hole #11, I moved in the right direction with a bogey and then rattled off three pars in a row on holes #12 through #14. My ball striking wasn't stellar during this stretch, but I stayed out of trouble. Through 14 holes, I was just 6 over par.
Unfortunately, I was 7 over par for the last four holes. This included a bogey and three doubles. It all started with a bad gap wedge shot on hole #15. I hit a great drive to the right fairway and had just 122 yards to the green. I hit ever so slightly behind the ball and came up way short in a creek that crosses the fairway. After the penalty stroke, I pitched on and 2-putt. It was disappointing because I knew I was easily on pace for a personal best. After that hole, I suddenly needed to par the three remaining holes in order to reach that goal. I played hole #16 poorly, quickly ruining that chance. I basically fell back to the final score of 85.
It was a good round, but could have been just a hair better. What is up with Scenic Woods though?
Score: 85
Putts: 29
Fairways: 2
Greens: 4
Penalties: 6
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